By Katie Clary
News Assistant
Investigators looking into the theft of $10,000 worth of computer parts from the Center for Communication and Business last week are seeking community assistance in tracking down the perpetrators.
The thieves snuck into the CCB, cut the locks on the computer cases, and stripped the hard drives, memory chips and processors sometime during the weekend of March 12-14.
Director of Public Safety Earl Carpenter did not offer a more exact estimation of when the crime occurred because he feared jeopardizing the investigation. But he did say that currently Public Safety has no eye witnesses, no physical description and no names of the suspect or suspects.
The Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department dusted for fingerprints last week, but the results of that test are not yet known. “It’s still an ongoing investigation,” Carpenter said, and an open case with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Currently, the Lost Hills investigation is on hold for two weeks because the detective leading the case is on vacation, said Detective Sgt. Tim Younger.
Public Safety investigator Ed Young hopes that Public Safety or the Sheriff’s Department will “kick the right rock” and find the information they need hiding underneath.
He said sometimes these crimes are solved very quickly, but sometimes they take months or years, finally closing through a tip from another detective agency.
“Out of the blue something will come your way and light the fuse again,” Young said. “Time will tell.”
In the meantime, Carpenter described the heightened security on campus. DPS officers are patrolling areas on campus with computers more frequently, he said.
Communication Division Chair Dr. Robert Chandler was out of the office this week and unavailable for comment, but Esther O’Connor, officer manager in the Communication Division, said that Chandler and Business Division Chair Dr. Keith Whitney will meet with different administrators Monday to determine whether the stolen computers will be replaced.
“Before we install anything, we have to know there’s better security in place,” O’Connor said.
Carpenter agreed. “Obviously there’s a lot of concern for us to resolve this case so it doesn’t happen again,” he said.
For students, that means another week without the convenience of computers in the CCB. “It’s a real shame,” Young said. “A lot of youngsters were counting on those [computers].”
This type of crime is not unprecedented. Carpenter said a similar incident occurred about 10 years ago when people from outside the Pepperdine community stole computer parts from the University in a sequence of burglaries on nearby college campuses. The crime was solved when a different agency arrested the suspect and various police departments noticed a similar crime pattern between their investigations.
“If anyone has any knowledge of the incident please call us,” Young said. Carpenter also requests that suspicious activity be reported to Public Safety at ext. 4700, particularly if someone is seen tampering with computers or carrying cutting tools or screwdrivers.
Young said Public Safety would prefer to respond to suspicious activity that turns out to be innocent than fail to respond and experience another theft.
“We have our feelers out,” Young said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Submitted March 25, 2004